First post!
About to pick a new-to-me 09 PWP TSX with ebony leather and it needs a tint! My tint guy uses Solar Guard HP Charcoal. Anyone have this tint? From the pics online it seems quite black and of course charcoal and non-metallic which i like. I want a tint as seen on oem suv's, so i'm thinking the 38, which is 36% tint which is close to 35, which seems like the standard tint for a mild oem look. Thoughts?

 

SUV tint is around 20-25%.

factory tint is around 75%.

first and foremost, you need to consider the tint laws in your state. if you don't care, then you need to understand that if you go darker than allowed, get caught and ticketed, dont' complain. pay to play.

with that said....35% is a nice happy medium. not too dark, not too light, but light enough for the cops to see shadows. it also allows you to see out at night. you have a black interior which will make the tint look darker than it is. the younger crowd, seems to go darker the better. personally if i went 20%, i couldnt' see crap out at night. for the more mature folks, we tend to go for 35%.

in the end, it's your car and your money. go darker than the law allows...pay to play. good luck!

 

I have 35% tint and I think it looks good because I also have a black interior which makes it looks darker from certain angles.

 

20% all around (or so my tint guy says it is...) A lot of people say it looks lighter though. I would say you'll be fine with 35%.

 

I have 35% and I always wish I had 20%.

 

I have 35% with ebony interior. I think it's perfect. Check your state's tint laws though if you want to stay legal and avoid tickets.

 

According to my tint guy, factory tint in a car is 89 (varies wildly in the stupe-utes). That said, in Mass for instance, a proper (and legal) film tint is 45 or 46 (depending on the film). This will result in a total tint of around 35% VLT. And along with a ticket (and fine), if you have to fix it (remove), if the film was applied properly, it needs to be professionally removed too (more money).

 

factory tint % was discussed on here somewhere on AZ. it was metered at around 75%. some states have absolute % and some have a +/- knowing that tint on top of factory windows in cars will yield a varied %. it also depends on the calibration of the tint meter.

i know in VA, depending on jurisdiction and who (local PD or state troopers) pulls you over....you will be ticketed and sometimes even have to pull the tint right there and then in front of the officer (depending on his mood). they will also just pull you over tint without another violation.

 

I have an SE. Which has black suede interior. But it is also the only acura that has a black headliner. 35% will look darker on this. Buddy has 27% which is SC's limit and it looks GREAT. 35% Will look great a night, but during the day can be a little too see through. If you have 5% you'll want to roll your windows down at night.

 

Thanks everyone. Solar gard HP Charcoal comes in 36% or 32%. I think I'm leaning towards the 32, I guess there isn't much difference, but Googling some photos I think 32 would work well. Anyone have photos of solar gard hp charcoal to share?

 

There are some jurisdictions where the car will be impounded for "unsafe equipment."

Visibility is way overrated. My suggestion is just to paint all the windows either body color or black.

Ask yourself why you want tint? Is it for heat/UV rejection? If so, then a nice 50 - 70% ceramic tint will do the job better than darker tint.

You want it for looks? Do what you think looks best but remember that you won't get much sympathy here if you go below your state limits and get ticketed.

Oh, you don't want people to see in? That's one of the reasons that states have limits (so the cops can see in.) Many bad guys target cars with tinted windows because you've got to have something in there they want (electronics/money/drugs) or you wouldn't be hiding it.

 

Texas just requires 35% for the front two windows. Ends up being around 24% when added to the factory "Green Glass".

I will be doing 35% up front and "limo" on the back two and rear window. Originally wanted to do the silver ceramic tint but my shop I go to doesnt carry that anymore. I guess the manufacturer stop making it a year ago. Sucks cause I have a blue car and it looks awesome, IMHO, with that color combo. Oh, well, cant beat the price Im paying for top tier tint for me to go somewhere else. Just got to find the time to go in and do it!!!

 

i have 35% in the front and 20% on the rear windows and rear windshield. works pretty well for me, looks amazing on the blue, ebony interior.

state limit for the front is 70% but i've only got a ticket when i was pulled over for speeding. tint ticket vs 6 points and $250? i wasnt mad

 

I have Formula 1 Pinnacle, it is ceramic tint which supposedly won't mess up the radio signal due to the antenna integrated in the rear window. However, I have not heard from anyone with metallic tint if they have had issues; so I am not sure if it is worth specifying ceramic.

Remember to ask if they can tint behind the third brake light, some people have had some tint companies say it is not possible, but if they are professionals with the tools they should be able to.

See pics below, 30% front, 15% rear.



Front 1/4 View
Before:

After:

Side View
Before:

After:


Rear:

 

So that makes your 35% tint illegal. You'll need about 45%-50% tint in order for you to attain that legal 35%

 

I've got 35% all around. Nice happy medium.

 

Actually not at all. 35% is the limit you can put on. The overall limit is either 22 or 24% total with the factory green glass added in. You can go as dark as you want in the rear. Awhile back when I had my type r a state trooper pulled me over and put a light meter on and it read 26. He told me I was close to the limit and thats how I learned about total tint level.

 

Uhhh, no. Texas (and most state) laws are cumulative. It would make zero sense to regulate the amount of tint you are adding as OE tint varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.

According to this site TX laws are 25% - the reason you didn't get a ticket - pure dumb luck. 26% is close to the 25% limit so you were fine.

 

Im lost. I think I just basically said that.

 

Looked at the site ceb. The limits you see are total tint limits. Factory green glass adds to the tint you place on your car. This is why texas says to go no lower than 35% on the front two windows. Now its interesting that your site says 25% total for the rear side windows since that would make every single limo illegal on the street. When I go in next weekend I will ask them about that. The law could have changed and private companies may have waviers???

When I talked to them the other day they said 35 up front and limo all in back is ok.

 

Ceb the site you gave me is incorrect about rear side windows. It even has a disclaimer saying it may be wrong and dont use the site as confirmation. I looked on the texas dps website and it says the rear side windows are exempt from regulation and so is the rear windshield as long as you have a side mirror that allows vision of the occupants for at least 200 ft which most cars can do.

The lesson: Dont trust tintdude.com.

 

go with 5% tin/limotints and pay the god damn ticket... i live in brooklyn idc how many times i get stopped man i need my privacy, they dont say nothing when they are caught red handed talking on the freaking phone....

 

I checked out tintlaws.com And it says 25% all around for TX. IDK I may need to double check that.

Here in FL it's 28% front windows and 15% rear windows including back windshield. Though in my area people easily do 5% tint. I've head 10-15% on all windows in my last car. Tint doesn't seem to be a big deal with cops for us. They don't give out many tint tickets here, hence why people drive around with illegal tint. Plus we can do any color we want. I've seen a guy with blue tint before, even yellow. I've witness red too. Those colors seem like they'd hurt my eyes afte awhile.

 

Check out this link:

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/rsd/vi/...windowTint.htm

This is better than any other link out there. Its from the STATE.

 

This site has links to all State websites dealing with window tinting:
http://traffic.findlaw.com/traffic-t...formation.html

 

I don't understand your point. The law clearly says 25% so that's why you were OK with 26%.

Most websites on mods are a bit off, so you'll want to doublecheck with state sites but they are good for a quick check or comparison.

Regarding your question about limo tint - many states exempt public conveyances. From the site you cited:

"Below are the exemptions to Window Tint requirements.

1. Vehicles used to transport passengers on a regular basis for a fee, (i.e., taxi, limousine, and buses).
2. Vehicles that are maintained by a law enforcement agency and used for law enforcement purposes.
3. Vehicles used by persons with medical permits. Drivers of these vehicles must present a letter of authorization from the Texas Department of Public Safety to gain this exemption."

 

Well, let's see, you said my 35% is illegal which it is not since:


Sunscreening devices can be applied to the side windows to the right and left of the driver if the following conditions are met.

1. Sunscreening devices, when measured in combination with the original glass, have a light transmittance value of 25% or more.
2. Sunscreening devices, when measured in combination with the original glass, have a luminous reflectance value of 25% or less.

You also said that your website says for the rear side windows it is 25% which it is not:

These windows are completely exempted from regulation under the Texas Transportation Code.

And actually I can have limo on my side rears and my rear windshield because:


A sunscreening device can be applied to the rear window of the vehicle if the following conditions are met.

1. If a motor vehicle is equipped with an outside mirror on each side of the vehicle that reflects to the vehicle operator a view of the roadway for a distance of at least 200 feet from the rear of the vehicle then there are no restrictions regarding the sunscreening devices applied to the rear window.

If a motor vehicle is not equipped with such mirrors then the rear window must meet the following standards:

1. Sunscreening devices, when measured in combination with the original glass, must have a light transmittance value of 25% or more.
2. Sunscreening devices, when measured in combination with the original glass, must have a luminous reflectance value of 25% or less.

Im sorry if I offended you when I proved you and your source incorrect.

Texas allows me to have a max of 35% on the front sides since that is the safest level that will keep me above or at theh 25% limit. Limo on all windows in the back since they are either exempt or I have two mirrors that can view 200 ft behind me.

The exemptions are if you want to tint the entire vehicle in Limo, not just the rears. If you ever seen a police intercepter you will see that the entire car even the windshield is heavly tinted. This for Texas. Not sure about other states and their DPS.

 

You appear to have difficulties with reading comprehension.

The entire discussion revolved around your front side windows. You stated "Texas just requires 35% for the front two windows. Ends up being around 24% when added to the factory "Green Glass"."

No state tells you how much tint you can add. It merely tells you the total required light transmission - in your case 25% for the front side windows.

You just want to argue. I'm not playing your stupid games.

 

Ceb......

A law is telling you what you can do. In this case it is telling you how much tint you can place on your car.

Again I am very sorry if I offended you and proved you wrong.

 

Here's 20% Huper Optik X-Treme all around

 

pinnacle high performance 30%

 

MCYoung and Savclaude, both cars look great!

Thanks for the links

 

Your welcome!

 

I'm looking to get as close to oem suv/van tint. Sounds like that is between 20-25%? So maybe I'll go for the hp charcoal 22? Although the pics of the 32 look like what I want.